The LibDems were faced tonight with the prospect of having to pay back the £2.4 donation received from Michael Brown (left), who was arrested in Spain today on 53 charges allege forgery, perjury, dishonesty, perverting the course of justice and obtaining a passport by deception. The Crown Prosecution Service applied for a European arrest warrant for Mr Brown on behalf of the HSBC, which is conducting private criminal proceedings itself under the Prosecution of Offences Act. The Serious Organised Crime Agency confirmed that Brown’s arrest was not linked to any investigation by British police.I can exclusively reveal that the charges relate to the sum of a massive £26 million which has 'gone missing'. This will be very worrying for the LibDem Treasurer Lord Razall, who was Charles Kennedy's link man on the £2.4 million donation. If HSBC can prove that the £2.4 million donation was part of the missing £26 million they may
well try to force the LibDems to repay the money. This would bankrupt the Party. I have sought some off the cuff legal advice on this and I am told that there are two ways HSBC could achieve the aim. They would have to prove that the LibDems were either 'criminally reckless' in accepting the money without doing proper 'due diligence' or prove they were 'negligent'. In that case HSBC would pursue the LibDems through the civil courts. We already know that Razall failed to conduct any checks into the operation of Brown's Swiss based company before accepting the donation. I think it would be difficult to prove that the LibDems were 'criminally reckless' but negligence might well be possible. There will be some very damp chairs in the Cowley Street Treasurers Office this evening... Hat-tip to Guido for the criminal mugshot of Michael Brown
The money is one thing, what about the influence and power it has also bought. Are all those MPs going to resign and fight byelections?
ReplyDeleteSurely the difficulty is not so much showing negligence (very tricky though that would be) but that the money received is part of the proceeds of criminal activity. Money is not like a car or a painting - it is incredibly hard to trace as soon as any legitimate money becomes mixed with illegitimate money. This remains a non-story I'm afraid Iain however you try to spin it. And - anonymous - what are you on?!
ReplyDeleteI think you are exagerating. Its bad news for the party because it links them to the funding row going on which it had previously been sitting out but at the end of the day taking a donation from someone who turns out to be dodgy isn't selling peerages is it?
ReplyDeleteanyway after cheries £7k hair bill I think we are in "plauge on all your houses territory. i will be very interested to see if this BNP surge holds up in other polls.
"...arrested in Spain today on 53 charges allege forgery, perjury, dishonesty, perverting the course of justice and obtaining a passport by deception."
ReplyDeleteThere's something strange about this, why should HSBC be pursuing a private prosecution on the last two? Surely thay should be a matter for Mr Plod?
The private prosecution bit is somewhat iffy, as is the fact that one charge is for several small personal cheques. Lets see if the case stands up first. After that the Lib Dem connection is still a long way down the road.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid Iain that here you are counting chickens whose parents are not yet known to have met.
No wonder they've been keeping quiet. It also explains why they're so much in favour of tax payers funding political parties.
ReplyDeleteI do love it when LibDems protest just that little bit too much. All the papers today seem to agree that there is at least a possibility that the money might have to be repaid. So, anonymous, still a non story? The Times didn't think so and plastered it all over pages 2 and 3.
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